The Gosky Titans also come with a Digiscoping phone adapter that allows you to take pictures and movies with your cell phone. At times we found it hard to focus, but when used with a tripod, it provided clear images with a wide field of view.
Pros mm objective lens Digi scoping phone adapter 20X zoom Cons Hard to focus 2. Celestron Cometron Binoculars — Best Value. Check Latest Price The Celestron Cometron Binoculars are our choice the best value, and we believe you will agree that these are the best astronomy binoculars for stargazing for the money. These binoculars feature an extra-wide field of view, and the mm objective lenses capture plenty of light to provide a clear image.
It also features a durable aluminum housing. The downside to these binoculars is their low magnification. The 7X zoom provided by the binoculars is not enough to see many of the smaller objects in the night sky. These powerful binoculars feature 25X magnification, allowing you to look further into space and pick up smaller objects than you can with most of the others on this list.
The mm objective lenses are the largest on this list and will bring in plenty of light to help present a clear image with plenty of contrast. It also features a mm eye relief to make it easier to get your eye in a position to see the picture. The rubber around the eyepieces also folds back to use the binoculars while wearing glasses.
Unfortunately, these binoculars are quite pricey and are also the heaviest on this list at over 10 pounds. You will need to mount these on a tripod using the included tripod connecter to use them properly. There is also no cell phone connection available, which we would have liked on binoculars this powerful and this expensive.
Orion Waterproof Astronomy Binoculars. Check Latest Price The Orion E-Series Waterproof Astronomy Binoculars are a larger pair of waterproof stargazing binoculars that feature a large mm objective lens and a wide field of view. The mm eye relief is easy on the eyes and is enough to use glasses with these binoculars. The downside we experienced with these binoculars is that they are relatively heavy and quite large and can become cumbersome after a while.
The image they provide is dim compared to many of the others on this list despite the large objective lenses, and the focus wheel is slow to turn and feels sludgy. Pros mm objective lens Wide field of view mm eye relief Waterproof Cons Heavy Slow focus wheel 5. Celestron SkyMaster Giant Binoculars.
Check Latest Price The Celestron SkyMaster Giant Binoculars is another large pair of astronomy binoculars on this list, and these feature oversized mm multicoated objective lenses. The multicoated objective lenses reduce glare and false images, while the large lenses collect more light and produce a brighter and clearer image. The Skymaster astronomy binoculars also include a tripod mount. We recommend using the tripod mount with the binoculars because, at almost four pounds, they are cumbersome, and fatigue will set in quickly while using them in a handheld fashion.
The included neck strap is very flimsy, thin, and uncomfortable. We also feel that while these binoculars do present a bright clear image, the low 15X zoom is not going to bring out many objects in the night sky. Levenhuk Bruno Plus Astronomy Binocular. The large lenses provide a wide field of view and a bright image. We found that these binoculars produce a clear picture at night, and we were able to find the rings of Saturn and other distant objects.
We were also concerned about the durability of this model because one of our eyepieces was loose, and the hard-plastic shell can break easily if dropped. Pros mm objective lens Tripod attachment Cons Heavy Not very durable 7. These binoculars feature a 20X zoom capability, which is enough to get a good view of the moon and even bring out the moons of Jupiter.
The mm lens allows plenty of light in and helps deliver a clear, sharp image. It has a durable aluminum frame and is entirely waterproof. The downside to these binoculars is they are heavy. Most binoculars marketed for astronomy use Porro prisms, named for the Italian optician who invented them in the s.
Roof-prism units are smaller and lighter-weight but have a more complicated, touchy optical design, which makes them more difficult and expensive to manufacture well. As a result, roof-prism binoculars tend to cluster at the high end of the market and, inexplicably, at the bottom end too — but not so often in between. A saying around my local astronomy club is that if your roof-prism binoculars don't seem to be performing well, you didn't spend enough money! In recent years there's been a new twist on the bigger-is-better theme: giant binoculars.
These are impressive, even imposing-looking devices. Common apertures include 70, 80, and even mm. Fujinon even makes a mm model — the equivalent of two 6-inch telescopes, one for each eye! For such beasts a tripod, preferably with a special binocular mount that allows you to aim upward, is mandatory. While they're a good supplement to your gear collection, I don't recommend giant binoculars as your primary instruments — they're just too unwieldy.
Another recent innovation is image-stabilized binoculars. These employ the same ingenious mechanisms found inside the best video cameras. Push a button and the shaky magnified view suddenly calms down, almost freezing in place.
The result is that you can use higher magnifications, get away with slightly less aperture, and yet still see more than with conventional binoculars. I was skeptical when these little marvels were introduced, but I was quickly won over.
When I first used Canon's compact little 10x30 image-stabilized binoculars shown at left from a dark-sky site, I had no trouble picking out the galaxies M81 and M82 near the Big Dipper. In fact, I actually tried to jiggle the view, but it refused to budge! There's some debate on what magnification is best. My take on this? I'm in the low-power camp.
If you get the chance, give both a good try and see which you prefer. A related consideration is the exit pupil , the size of the little round disk of light that you see floating in the air behind the eyepieces when you hold the binoculars out in front of you toward a bright sky or a bright indoor wall. The size of the exit pupil is an important factor that's often overlooked.
To determine it, just divide the aperture by the magnification — and luckily these are inscribed right there on the back facing you. Why is this important? Because the bright disk of the exit pupil should fit inside the pupil of your eye.
And not everyone's eyes open to the same diameter in the dark. Young people under age 30 or so have pupils that open to about 7 millimeters across. While individuals vary a lot, the rule of thumb is that after age 30 you lose 1 mm of exit pupil every 10 or 15 years. Score a big point for the high-power camp, at least if you're getting on in years; the higher the power, the smaller the exit pupil.
Of course, the best way to see if a binocular model suits you is to give it a good tryout at night. Do stars focus down to pinpoints better in one pair than another? Your local optical shop, however, may not be thrilled with the idea of letting you play with lots of equipment overnight on a loaner basis.
Luckily there are ways to tell right in the shop how well binoculars will likely perform. These tests really work I've done them for years , and if you learn them well you'll gain a reputation as an expert on binocular optics. First, pick up several binoculars and look at their objective front lenses. Do this with a bright white light coming over your shoulder from behind. You'll notice right away that in some objective lenses, the reflection of the light will be brighter than in others.
Pick the models with the reflections that look darkest and no doubt deeply colored ; this is a sign of quality lens coatings. Good coatings increase the transmission of light through the glass and reduce the amount of scattered light hazing the view. Now, while still looking in the big front lenses, tilt the binoculars around a bit and look for more reflections deeper inside.
They should all be colored, not white. A white reflection is the sign of a glass surface that has no coating at all. You might think you could tell the quality of the coatings from designations such as "coated," "multicoated," or "fully multicoated," but in practice these terms can be next to meaningless. The proof is in the looking, so look. Note: Don't be taken in by models hyping "ruby-coated lenses.
Now turn the binoculars around and repeat the procedure, looking for colored versus white reflections in the eye lenses. Next, face a well-lit wall and hold the binoculars nearly at arm's length, with the eyepieces pointed at you. You'll see the exit pupils disks of light floating just behind the eyepieces, as was illustrated above.
You might think that exit pupils would always be perfectly round, but this isn't so. The ones on cheaper binoculars often have a slightly "squared off" look, as if someone shaved off, or dimmed, two or four edges. This is a sign of manufacturer's corner-cutting that will slightly dim all the images you see. Pick the units with round exit pupils; this tells you that quality prisms were used and that you're getting all the light you should.
You can also check the specification sheet: the best prisms are made from BAK-4 glass, while others use BK-7 glass. Since they're hidden inside, the prisms are one of the first things manufacturers skimp on when trying to lower the price. Seeing "shaded" or "squared off" exit pupils is a sign of lesser-quality or undersized prisms.
Next, if you wear glasses for astigmatism, make sure you can see the entire field of view with your glasses on. The first number is the magnification; the second, the diameter of the front lenses in millimetres. These two numbers are the key to choosing good astronomy binoculars. Which combination of magnification and aperture is best? Generally, more magnification means seeing more detail in sky objects. But as the power goes up, the amount of sky you see the true field of view goes down.
Similarly, big objective lenses gather more light, allowing you to see fainter objects, but result in binoculars that are heavier and more difficult to hold and use. But depending on your interests and circumstances, another combination might appeal to you more. Whichever model you decide on, be sure to try before you buy. Good binoculars will produce sharp stars across most of the field the edge of the field is usually blurry. Pay close attention to stars at the centre of the field—they should focus down to tiny pinpoints.
Also check out the mechanical aspects of the binoculars. Do they feel sturdy? Do they focus precisely? Generally, higher-priced binoculars mean better mechanics and incrementally better optical quality. Here are a few of my favourites.
Each has its strengths and weak- nesses, but I can recommend them all with- out hesitation. ISBs use a combination of optics and electronics to cancel out the jiggles that accompany handheld viewing.
The effect is magical. These binoculars are great all-rounders. The lens coatings are first-rate, and the wide-angle eyepieces provide expansive views. Be warned, though: These binoculars are heavy for their size, weighing in at 3.
0コメント